SYDNEY AFL ROUND 20 2012
Article and Photos by Michael Shillito
Even when the teams playing the finals are known, there is plenty of importance in the final home and away round. Teams, attempting to get their balance right, treat this as a dress rehearsal for the finals. And the dress rehearsal theme takes on additional meaning this year in Premier Division; with both of next week’s finals being replays of final round matches.
It felt like spring had come early. At Gore Hill, a healthy crowd on the hill took in the sunshine. North Shore were aiming for a win to wrap up top spot; while Pennant Hills were looking to win to get a double-chance in the finals.
The two teams last met in the opening round of the season, and on that occasion the Demons took the points. And with an explosive start, they put themselves in the box seat to do so again. The Demons took first blood when Matt Carey crumbed a pack and snapped the ball through; and in the blink of an eye the Demons had four goals on the board. The Demons would never be headed, and the Bombers would be forced to play catch-up football.
Worse was to come for the Bombers, as ruckman Sam Naismith went down with a shoulder injury, assisted off the field and would play no further part in the game. After the injury stoppage, young gun Brandon Jack showed how remarkably he has developed in such a short time playing our game as he pulled off an amazing snap goal.
Five goals to one for the quarter, and the Demons led by 21 points at the first change. Midway through the second term, the lead was out to 28 points, and the Bombers needed a spark. For a brief period they lifted, Lachlan Kilpatrick and Doug Hadden on the run snapping much-needed goals. The Bombers had won the quarter, but still had plenty of work to do, as the Demons were 15 points ahead.
Of concern in the lead-up to the finals was the carnage on the medical tables. Sam Naismith had been joined on the North Shore sidelines by Lachlan Pryor before the plucky midfielder returned to the action late in the third term, while Pennant Hills’ Alistair Richardson was put in a shoulder sling, his season seemingly over.
On the field, the pressure was on in the premiership quarter. The Bombers, for all their efforts, were unable to make any further dent in the Pennant Hills’ lead; and the 15 point margin was still intact as the clock ticked into time on.
But it was getting worse for the Bombers, as Richie Lynch found himself surrounded, chipping across the face of goal but only finding Daniel Witt. Shortly afterwards, Ted Widmer pulled off a blinder of a shot from the pocket, threading the ball on the impossible angle on the run; the roar from the Demon faithful on the hill close to a claim of victory as the Demons took a 30-point lead into the huddle at three quarter time.
The Demons had won the premiership quarter, and had the scent of victory. And in the first minute of the final quarter, another defensive chip across the face of goal was intercepted by Luke Bilbe; and with the shot at goal, the game was sealed. The Demons had the Bombers on the ropes, and Bilbe’s shot was the first of seven knockout blows as the final margin blew out to 48 points.
Stephen Wray and Brandon Jack finished with four goals apiece for the Demons; along with Ted Widmer being among their best. For the Bombers, Jack Davis, Tim Schmidt and Lachlan Pryor were among their best.
Pennant Hills’ reward for their win is a re-match with North Shore next week. Last year they played in a sudden-death elimination final, and the Bombers ended the Demons’ season. This year their clash isn’t sudden death, but the winner will get the chance to play off for a spot in the Grand Final.
Just a month ago, St George’s finals hopes looked gone. But their revival in recent weeks has been impressive; and on Saturday afternoon the Dragons sent a signal that they’re not just in the finals to make up the numbers when they won their fifth game on the trot.
Kelso Oval, although not St George’s regular home, has become something of a fortress for the Dragons in 2012. This, however, would be a tougher test, against a Balmain side that still harboured ambitions of qualifying for the double-chance.
A low-scoring first half saw just five goals scored in each of the first two quarters. It had been an arm wrestle, two sides desperately working to stop the other building momentum. The Dockers led by six points at quarter time and by three at the long break, and it was anyone’s game.
But during the half-time break, news filtered through of the result at Gore Hill; and that Pennant Hills’ win had ended Balmain’s hopes of avoiding sudden death. The news deflated the Dockers, and the Dragons took full toll. The third quarter saw the Dragons take the lead, finding more run around the ground; while Nick Ryan began to look deadly up forward.
Four goals to two put the Dragons 13 points up at the last change. And the last quarter was a St George benefit show, the Dragons at their unstoppable best as they shook off any defensive pressure to run through eight goals and blow the final margin out to 40 points.
Nick Ryan finished with seven goals for the Dragons; while Alex Wynn, Lachlan Perris and Ryan were among the Dragons’ best. For the Dockers, Aaron Cottrell contributed four goals; while Selby Lee-Steere, Craig White and Tom Matson were prominent around the ground.
St George, with five wins in a row, end a three-year finals drought and will be in action at the business end of the season. And it will be a re-match, with the Dragons taking on Balmain again next week. The teams have split their meetings this year; and with a sudden death in place, the stakes are high.
With North Shore going down, all UNSW-ES needed to do to claim the minor premiership and have the first week of the finals off was to defeat bottom side Sydney University. And at the Village Green, the Bulldogs were untroubled in doing just that, running out an easy 113-point winner.
Bursting out of the blocks, the Bulldogs scored seven goals in the opening term to lead by 35 points. But it was in the second term that the floodgates truly opened. The Village Green became the venue for a shootout, the ball being cleared from the centre onto the forward lines with ease and regularity. In a marathon quarter, a total of 16 goals were kicked; with the Bulldogs helping themselves to 12 of them.
With a lead of 83 points at half time, and news of the Gore Hill result in, the minor premiership was safe and the Bulldogs were happy to sit back and go through the motions in the second half. The Students, who had struggled with a reserve grade side all season with their best players in their NEAFL side, were unable to maintain the pace and the Bulldog lead extended further, extending past the three figure threshold late in the third term.
In the end, the Bulldogs won by 113 points, maintaining a percentage well over 200 for the season. Josh Parmenter finished with five goals and Leigh Lavery four; while Hayden Nichols, Joel Robbie and Peter Kefalas picked up a stack of possession. For the Students, Max Carter kicked four goals; and along with Alex Dyson and Thomas Kirkham was among their best.
UTS had been in the top five for most of the season, before having both their byes late in the season and a three-game losing streak saw the Bats drop out in the last couple of weeks. But the Bats at least managed to finish the season on a positive note with a 82-point win over Illawarra at North Dalton Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Bats had only scored one goal in their last start, but had already surpassed that total within a few minutes. It was the kick-start the Bats wanted, getting them on their way to a five goal opening quarter; and a lead of 24 points at quarter time extended to 47 points at half time.
The Lions were only able to score two goals in the first half, and were held goal-less in the third term as the Bats tightened the screws. With four goals to the Bats in the premiership quarter, the lead was stretched out to 70 points at the last change. And although the pressure on the Illawarra forward line was eased in the last quarter, enabling the Lions to score three goals in the final quarter, the result of the game was already determined long before that.
Frank Boland scored four goals for the Bats; while around the ground, Liam Flanagan, Justin Kenna and Tom Nixon picked up plenty of the ball. For the Lions, Daniel McClure, Jake Hogarth and Scott Proctor worked hard all afternoon.
Two other teams saying their farewells for 2012 were Western Suburbs and Sydney Hills. The Magpies’ finals hopes ended months ago, but they would finish their season on a good note at Picken Oval on Saturday afternoon, with a 15-point victory.
The first quarter was a high-scoring shootout, with both teams displaying deadly accuracy with five goals apiece; and scores were level at the first change. But the Magpies took the upper hand in the second quarter, holding the Eagles to two goals while adding five themselves to lead by 18 points at the long break.
There would be no way back for the Eagles in the third term. The Magpies had the answers for every challenge the Eagles threw up, and although the visitors scored four goals in the third term, the Magpies matched their efforts to ensure there would be no dent made in the margin. The final quarter saw both sides playing out time, the Eagles scoring the only goal of the final quarter before the final siren sounded to bring the season of both clubs to an end.
Matt Eurell was back to his best on the forward line for Wests, finishing with seven goals; while Brenton Mumme contributed four. Mumme, Eurell and Jack Codd-Miller were prominent in their performance for the Magpies. For the Eagles, Yoshi Harris, Ash Moeller and Kyall Walford never gave up in the face of the challenge.
For the Eagles, the promotion of their senior team to the NEAFL left their Premier Division team without the talent that had taken them to the last three premierships. And although the challenge of making the finals was too much for them, it’s been a good development year for their Premier Division team. For the Magpies, the season ends with four wins in their last five games; and although the finals were long out of reach, the Magpies have built some momentum at the end of the season that they’ll be keen to build on in 2013.
And so of the 11 teams that started the season, only five remain. For UTS, Sydney Hills, Illawarra, Western Suburbs, Campbelltown and Sydney University, planning for 2013 starts now. But for the top five, the biggest tests of the season are still to come.
The top three finished level on games after the regular season, separated only by percentage. Balmain are always dangerous, while St George are in form. This should be a cracker of a finals series.
